Post Office boss Nick Read will step down from his role next year, the company has said.

The chief executive had already stepped back from front-line duties saying he wanted to give his “entire attention” to the final stage of the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.

The inquiry is scrutinising failings over the wrongful prosecutions of hundreds of sub-postmasters based on faulty accounting software which made it look as though money was missing from branches.

On Wednesday, the Post Office said Mr Read would depart in March 2025.

Mr Read described it as a “great privilege” to have worked as Post Office chief executive in an “extraordinarily challenging time for the business and for postmasters”.

“There remains much to be done for this great UK institution but the journey to reset the relationship with postmasters is well under way and our work to support justice and redress for postmasters will continue,” he added.

Mr Read joined the company in 2019, long after the prosecutions, and has not appeared before the inquiry before.

The Post Office Horizon IT inquiry began in 2022 and has heard evidence from scores of victims and executives who worked at the Post Office during the scandal.